With less than three weeks until the current session of parliament is slated to finish, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s government faces the question of whether to extend it for 60 days in order to debate controversial bills her ruling coalition wants passed before the autumn session begins.

The Liberal Democratic Party and Japan Innovation Party (JIP) continue to say they aim to get two controversial bills passed before the end of the ongoing session on July 17 ¡ª one that would reduce the number of Lower House seats and another that establishes the concept of a secondary capital.

But many smaller opposition parties are strongly against the bill to reduce the number of parliamentary seats. They have expressed particular concern about the bill¡¯s provision to eliminate 45 proportional representation seats, a move that would hit them particularly hard.

¡°The whole discussion is bizarre,¡± Democratic Party for the People (DPP) head Yuichiro Tamaki told reporters Tuesday.

But with time for debate running out, the LDP and the JIP, also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai, are determined to fulfill an October 2025 coalition agreement between them and get both bills passed in this session.

The two parties hold a two-thirds Lower House majority, but they¡¯re a minority in the Upper House. One option to try and overcome the opposition in the Upper House is for Takaichi to invoke the 60-day rule, which would keep both chambers of parliament in session until mid-to-late September.

The rule refers to a provision in Article 59 of the Constitution. It stipulates that if the Upper House fails to vote within 60 days after receiving a bill that has cleared the Lower House, excluding the period when parliament is in recess, the lower chamber can deem the bill as having been rejected by the upper chamber.

When that happens, the bill is returned to the Lower House for another vote where if it is passed by a two-thirds majority, it becomes law.

Asked about the possibility of extending the current session of parliament, LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki told reporters Monday that getting legislation ¡ª especially the seat-reduction and secondary capital concept bills ¡ª done now remains the goal.

¡°Our policy of passing legislation, including bills the JIP has been involved with, in this session is unchanged,¡± Suzuki said.

Takashi Endo, the JIP¡¯s parliamentary chief, met with his LDP counterpart, Hiroshi Kajiyama, on Monday to discuss the legislative schedule for the remainder of the current session. Speaking to reporters afterward, he also confirmed that the goal was to wrap things up by July 17.

¡°Although the session is drawing to a close there is still time (for debate). So I don¡¯t think we¡¯re at the stage where (the 60-day rule) needs to be considered,¡± Endo told reporters after the meeting.

Endo did not entirely dismiss the possibility of an extension.

¡°I suppose it could be viewed as a hypothetical option, a mental exercise. However, that¡¯s not something we¡¯re currently planning to use,¡± he said.

Some in the LDP also hope the DPP can eventually be persuaded to join the ruling coalition, which would give it majorities in both chambers of parliament.

Given Tamaki¡¯s opposition, however, an invocation of the 60-day rule could make the LDP goal of getting the DPP onboard as a coalition partner more remote.

But Tamaki also said on Tuesday that invoking the rule would create problems for Takaichi in her own party.

¡°If the prime minister or the ruling coalition pursues this course of action, it would be tantamount to advocating the view that the Upper House is unnecessary. As a consequence, it seems unlikely the LDP Upper House members would easily agree to such a move,¡± he said.